Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

Friday, December 20, 2013

An old fashioned heirloom fruit salad recipe, made with whole seedless grapes dressed with a sour cream and cream cheese dressing, whipped cream folded in and finished with a brown sugar and pecan topping.

Grape Salad

This is a retro fruit salad recipe from waaay back. You'll see versions of it all over the internet with very little variation in the base recipe of seedless grapes tossed in a creamy, sweet dressing, usually made with cream cheese, sour cream and sugar and finished with a brown sugar nut topping.

Somewhere along the way, somebody decided that whipped cream would be good (I agree!), and a few folks have even added their own touches with things like pineapple and mini marshmallows.

I prefer to keep the grapes whole rather than slicing them because sliced, they tend to water down the dressing and for this salad you do want that thick and creamy. Taste your grapes first to determine the amount of sugar to use, keeping in mind that you'll also be finishing this fruit salad off with a coating of brown sugar and pecans. Don't skip that part.

This is also one of those great fruit salads where you can make adjustments to lower the fat without affecting the flavor much and it's a great addition to any holiday table. Folks, like me, who enjoy snacking on grapes really love this fruit salad. Not much to look at really, but very delicious nonetheless.

Grapes are a rather nondescript, nearly neutral fruit, so really, for this dish, it's all about the dressing... and the brown sugar topping. Here's how to make it.

Rinse the grapes and set aside in a colander to drain. Add the cream cheese, sour cream and powdered sugar to a medium sized bowl.

Blend until smooth. Add vanilla and beat that in.

Add grapes to a covered storage bowl and toss with the mixture. Fold in the whipped topping.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Transfer to a large serving bowl and sprinkle the top liberally with brown sugar and pecans just before serving.

Rinse grapes and set aside in a colander to drain. Using a mixer, cream together the cream cheese, sour cream and powdered sugar until smooth. Add vanilla and beat in. Add grapes to a covered storage bowl and toss with the mixture. Beat heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla extract until thick and fluffy and doubled in volume. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese dressing. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Transfer to a large serving bowl, sprinkle the top liberally with brown sugar and pecans just before serving.

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12 comments:

Mary,Wanted to give you an update about using maraschino cherries in the Santa Whisker cookies. took a chance and used them-squeezed them dry with paper towels. They came out delicious!Thanks for the advice.Ho! Ho Ho!LOL.

I'd swear we were sisters if we weren't raised in different states! And if I wasn't a heck of a lot older. Anyway, this salad/dessert used to appear a lot on our table - grapes were cheap and sour cream had to be used before it went bad. We never had pecans on top though - I think I'm going to like that addition. Keep the recipes coming in 2014!

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